Cambridge Consultants announces new CEO

Cambridge Consultants, a leading technology design and development firm, today announced that Alan Richardson has been appointed as CEO. Mr Richardson takes over from Dr Brian Moon, who today announced his retirement and has held the position for the past eleven years.

Mr Richardson joined Cambridge Consultants in February 1984. He has been the Deputy CEO since 2007. Prior to being appointed to the board in 2002 as Chief Technology Officer, Mr Richardson played a major role in building the firm’s business in electromagnetic sensors, becoming Division Manager of the Product Development Business. Mr Richardson graduated with a First Class degree in Mathematics from Churchill College, Cambridge in 1981 and completed an MBA with Distinction in 1998.

Commenting on his appointment, Mr Richardson said, “Naturally I’m delighted to take up this position for one of the best-known and globally-respected product development and technology firms. Having been appointed Deputy CEO in 2007, I feel that I am now ready to lead the firm through its next stage of growth and success.”

Mr Richardson continued, “Whilst the world has experienced a degree of turbulence and uncertainty over the past few years, the value that Cambridge Consultants brings to clients means that we have only experienced ever-increasing demand for our services. Looking forward I believe that there are new markets, such as Asia and parts of Europe, where we can bring our expertise to bear and further accelerate our demanding growth targets. Last year, more than 98% of our clients felt that we exceeded their expectations, so it is with this pedigree that I feel confident that we can continue to build this business. Brian has played the pivotal role in our success for the past decade, and I am grateful for everything he has done to hand over such a strong and successful business.”

Dr Brian Moon joined Cambridge Consultants in 1982 as an engineer in Optical Science. During the 1980s and ’90s, Dr Moon was responsible for building a successful division responsible for Medical Product and System Development. Having saved the company from collapse when the firm’s previous owners went into receivership in 2002, Dr Moon was also able to protect and retain the company’s portfolio of shareholdings in spin-off companies and ultimately was able to solve the pension problem the company was left with. This enabled employees of the company and also the UK employees of the previous owner to obtain their pensions. Dr Moon led the company into strong growth, more than doubling the company’s turnover in less than ten years. It was also under Dr Moon’s stewardship that the firm opened its first office in the United States and was awarded two Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, the first in 2009 and the second in 2011.

On his retirement, Dr Moon commented, “Having worked closely with Alan for many years, I retire safe in the knowledge that the firm is in a strong position and set for further success. We have only seen year-on-year growth during my tenure as CEO, and during this time we have delivered some truly spectacular projects to clients. I put this down to the exceptional calibre of staff that Cambridge Consultants employs, and I feel privileged to have led this iconic Cambridge company for the past decade.”

Notes to editors

Cambridge Consultants develops breakthrough products, creates and licenses intellectual property, and provides business consultancy in technology-critical issues for clients worldwide. For more than 50 years, the company has been helping its clients turn business opportunities into commercial successes, whether they are launching first-to-market products, entering new markets or expanding existing markets through the introduction of new technologies. With a team of more than 700 staff, including engineers, scientists, mathematicians and designers, in offices in Cambridge (UK), Boston (USA) and Singapore, Cambridge Consultants offers solutions across a diverse range of industries including medical technology, industrial and consumer products, digital health, oil and gas, and wireless communications.

Cambridge Consultants is part of Altran, a global leader in engineering and R&D services which offers its clients a new way to innovate. Altran works alongside its clients on every link in the value chain of their project, from conception to industrialisation. In 2015, the Altran group generated revenues of €1.945bn. With a headcount of more than 27,000 employees, Altran is present in more than 20 countries. For more information, visit www.altran.com.